Former DAC rivals go at it as Black Hills State holds on to defeat DSU

• Jarek Hansen

Dickinson state senior Jarek Hansen, left, and Black Hills State sophomore Brady Bisgaard chase after a loose ball during a nonconference men's basketball game Saturday night at Scott Gymnasium.

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Dickinson State and Black Hills State aren’t in the same conference anymore, but that didn’t stop the Blue Hawk and Yellow Jacket men’s basketball teams from playing like the Dakota Athletic Conference championship was on the line Saturday night at Scott Gymnasium.

Though both teams had their fair share of early season miscues, BHSU shook off its slow start and held off the Blue Hawks for a 75-67 nonconference victory in an intensely played, foul-plagued game.

“I think they just outplayed us,” DSU head coach Ty Orton said. “They played more physical and they played more aggressive. We looked like we expected to win instead of going out there possession by possession.”

After DSU scored the game’s first nine points and took an 11-3 lead just over 5 minutes into the first half, the Yellow Jackets woke up.

BHSU, now a NCAA Division II member, outscored DSU 33-15 from that point until halftime and the Blue Hawks never recovered, getting set back by fouls and a stagnant offense while being beat on the boards.

Tanner Alder had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (1-0) and Cameron Anderson added 16 points and six rebounds.

“I thought we took some more positives out of tonight,” BHSU head coach Bradd Schafer said. “We’ve just got to keep correcting mistakes and getting better.”

Aside from Ty Ackelson, DSU couldn’t get much rolling offensively. Not including Ackelson, the Blue Hawks shot 37 percent from the field.

The junior guard had 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and helped DSU rally in the second half.

Trailing by nine early in the second half, Ackelson got a jumper and a layup and Jarek Hansen followed that with a three-point play in the post to cut BHSU’s lead to 46-44.

DSU never got any closer.

Anderson got a goaltending call and Alder hit a jumper from the baseline and the Yellow Jackets never led by less than four points the rest of the way.

“We didn’t stick with the game plan,” Ackelson said. “We kept going inside and inside to our posts and we just weren’t getting points off that.”

DSU senior Johnie Sanders added 11 points but senior forward Matt Lee was limited to five points, four assists and three rebounds while spending much of the game in foul trouble.

BHSU held a 38-31 edge on the boards.

“We’re playing tight,” Orton said. “We’re not playing aggressive. I think of some things that I just didn’t like. It’s early in the season, playing a big team like that, that’s what we’ve got to do to get ready for the Frontier Conference. We’ve got to see some things that we can fix.”

DSU hosts South Dakota Mines at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday.

BLACK HILLS STATE (1-0): Cameron Anderson 7-9 2-4 16, Tanner Alder 5-18 7-9 19, Brady Bisgaard 2-6 6-6 10, Joey Mitchell 3-10 0-0 7, Austin Maag 3-6 3-4 9, Brody Brisk 2-5 2-2 8, Mitchell Foth 0-1 0-1 0, Tommy Earl 0-1 0-1 0, Riley Ryan 0-0 0-0 0, Kevin Haes 2-4 0-0 4, Ryan Allen 0-0 2-4 2. Totals 24-60 22-31 75.

DICKINSON STATE (1-1): Johnie Sanders 4-12 3-6 11, Matt Lee 2-4 1-3 5, Ty Ackelson 9-13 1-4 22, Robbie Morey 1-3 0-0 3, John Hanstad 1-2 3-3 6, Anthony Hodges 0-2 0-0 0, Ryan Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, James Hayden 0-1 0-0 0, Brock Boos 0-0 0-0 0, Isiah Thomas 0-0 1-2 1, Phillip Johnson 2-4 0-0 4, Tevin Russell 3-6 1-3 8, Jarek Hansen 2-7 3-3 7. Totals 24-54 13-25 67.

Halftime: BHSU 36-26. Total fouls: BHSU 23, DSU 24. Technical fouls: DSU, Russell. Fouled out: BHSU, Maag; DSU, Lee. 3-point goals: BHSU 5-20 (Alder 2-10, Bisgaard 0-1, Mitchell 1-5, Maag 0-1, Brisk 2-3), DSU 6-17 (Lee 0-1, Ackelson 3-4, Morey 1-3, Hanstad 1-2, Hodges 0-2, Hayden 0-1, Russell 1-2, Hansen 0-2). Rebounds: BHSU 38 (Alder 10), DSU 31 (Morey 6, Hanstad 6). Assists: BHSU 9 (Bisgaard 6), DSU 11 (Lee 4). Steals: BHSU 7 (Mitchell 2), DSU 7 (Sanders 3). Blocks: BHSU 0, DSU 3 (Lee, Morey, Russell). Turnovers: BHSU 20 (Mitchell 6), DSU 18 (Lee 5).

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